You go back to those films of the `40s and `50s and hear the dialogue, the way the people played off each other, the wordplay. I think we`ve really lost that in movies.

I just like to keep challenging myself, keep it varied. It`s a craft, and I`m constantly trying to learn and get better at it.

Parenthood and family come first for me, and when I`m not working I`m cool with the Teletubbies.

I don`t think you necessarily identify and believe in the motifs of the character, but you have to want to play it and want to commit to the lines.

I`m not the kind of actor who goes into exhaustive research for each role.

I love to mix it up. I love to keep doing different things.

I think I am more attracted to characters with a subtext, whatever that is and they don`t necessarily have to be virtuous, but they have to at least be human.

The sexiest part of the body is the eyes. That`s what I believe.

One of the things I`m most proud of about my career is the fact I`ve managed to keep options open.

On his fear of badgers: I`ve never been bitten by one or anything like that, they just look evil to me. Even watching The Wind in the Willows they scared me. It was like the Devil staring straight into my eyes. It`s something I`ve never outgrown. Even today, just the thought of badgers absolutely terrifies me. Hell to me is a room full of badgers.

[Talking about Daniel Craig]: "I think when Craig first took the (James Bond) part he got a pretty rough ride, which to a certain extent is inevitable because there are so many different people who have so many different ideas about something like that. You are never going to please everybody. The thing that is really exciting is that he is a proper actor. He is not shallow or posing, they have cast a really serious actor and I think that when the film comes out everyone will see what a great choice he was".

The lighter stuff has got to be really well written for me, or it just doesn`t get me going. There`s something to play if there`s conflict going on. Whatever that conflict is, that`s where drama is; if the character is grappling with something you`ve got something to play, there`s layers to it. And when that isn`t there it`s ... less interesting.

Theater is like exercise. I feel it`s healthy. But I don`t love it as much as movies. A bad experience in the theater can be so depressing. You`ve got to do it every night, even if the production is not working.

When I was 10 or 11, I played the Artful Dodger in a school production of `Oliver. From that point forward, I said I wanted to be an actor. Nobody in my family took it seriously, but I saw no other path. I was a cocky little kid. This one teacher said: `You`re a working-class kid from Coventry. What do you know?`

Theatre uses a different energy. It`s like going to the gym and having a vigorous workout. But every few years is enough because I love filming. I am a real film animal.

The sexiest part of the body is the eyes. Corny, but that`s what I believe. They`re what connect us as human beings.

I`ve never been interested in playing good guys. I`m always attracted to dangerous characters. Those roles are usually far more interesting and I hold no fears about doing them. With my character in Croupier (1998), you`re never really sure where he`s coming from. He`s not really a good guy or a bad guy. But people generally aren`t, are they?